Isaiah 38:20

20 "The LORD will surely save me; So we will 1play my songs on stringed instruments 2All the days of our life 3at the house of the LORD."

Isaiah 38:20 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 38:20

The Lord was ready to save me
Or, "the Lord to save me {y}"; he was at hand to save him; he was both able and willing to save him; he was a present help in time of need; he arose for his help, and that right early; he very quickly delivered him out of his distress; he, who one day expected death every moment, was the next day in the temple praising God: therefore will we sing my songs;
which were made by him, or concerning him, or which he ordered to be sung, as he did the Psalms of David, ( 2 Chronicles 29:30 ) : to the stringed instruments:
which were touched with the fingers, or struck with a quill or bow; which distinguishes them from wind instruments, which were blown with the mouth; each of these were used in the temple service: all the days of our life;
he had before said "we will sing", meaning his family and his friends with him, his courtiers, princes, and nobles, or he and the singers of Israel; and this he determined to do as long as he and they lived; signifying, that the mercy granted would never be forgotten by him, as well as there would be new mercies every day, which would call for praise and thankfulness: and this he proposed to do in the house of the Lord;
in the temple; not only privately, but publicly; not in his closet and family only, but in the congregation of the people; that the goodness of God to him might be more known, and the praise and glory given him be the greater.


FOOTNOTES:

F25 (yneyvwhl hwhy) "Dominus ad servandum me", Montanus; "Jehova est ad salvandum me", Cocceius, Vitringa.

Isaiah 38:20 In-Context

18 "For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19 "It is the living who give thanks to You, as I do today; A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.
20 "The LORD will surely save me; So we will play my songs on stringed instruments All the days of our life at the house of the LORD ."
21 Now Isaiah had said, "Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover."
22 Then Hezekiah had said, "What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD ?"

Cross References 3

  • 1. Psalms 33:1-3; Psalms 68:24-26
  • 2. Psalms 104:33; Psalms 116:2; Psalms 146:2
  • 3. Psalms 116:17-19
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